Top 5 Energy Efficiency Apps For Your Home

If there’s anything homeowners across the country agree on, it’s the importance of energy efficiency and consequent savings.

While homeowners are happy to save a few extra bucks, the U.S. Department of Energy promotes home energy efficiency because it combats climate change and adds to cleaner, breathable air. A 2014 analysis showed that sellers disclosing home energy costs in residential market listings can actually sell their home faster than those that didn’t.

In retrospect, home buyers are on the lookout for energy efficient appliances, solar panel systems and Minimum Efficiency Reporting Values (MERV) proving the home has effective air filters. MERV has relevance for homebuyers with children. Lower ratings prove the home has less airborne contaminants and allergens. The average household uses close to 20% of its energy on appliances, so programs like ENERGY STAR are paving the way for energy savings. In addition to savings, switching to a solar power energy system has a big environmental impact because solar panels help reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

For buyers and sellers, any home technology is a selling point. The onset of mobile technology has brought a slew of home efficiency apps to the market, so anyone can turn their home into an energy efficient powerhouse from the palm of their hand. We’ve come up with a list of the top five home efficiency apps so that you can reap the benefits of cost savings and going green.

1. Nest

Nest has paved the way for home energy efficiency technology. Thermostats control most of your home’s energy and you could be paying for energy you’re not using. Programing thermostats is no longer a chore because the Nest thermostat and app make it incredibly easy. The app predicts temperature changes, optimizing the balance of air conditioner (AC) and heat. It also alerts you when air filters need changing, so you can be sure to have a healthy MERV score. Nest can help you save on both your heating and cooling bills just by regulating the temperature in your home when you aren’t.

2. Netatmo

An easy way to lower your monthly finances is to cut back on energy consumption. The Netatmo Weather Station uses temperature, relative humidity and CO2 readings inside your home to alert you when you need to open a window, not turn on the AC. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans spend nearly 90% of their time indoors, where pollutants are higher than those outside. Netatmo’s app also allows users to track their indoor environments over time. You can observe cycles and forecast weather variations, so you can plan your thermostats accordingly.

3. EnergySaver

Switching to an energy efficient home starts with taking a good look at your consumption. You can explore ways to cut utility bills, such as getting solar power or purchasing Nest. But you can also make small changes around the house. EnergySaver helps homeowners create profiles for all their utilities and then analyzes the consumption from major appliances. With the data, users can save time and money by reducing wasteful consumption and wear-and-tear on household appliances.

4. MySolarCity

Every 3 minutes, someone switches to solar with SolarCity. It’s a trend that’s catching on because energy from the sun is infinite and solar panels on your home are just so cool. The MySolarCity app is useful because it will show solar production and energy consumption on the homes of customers. But the app is also a great tool for those without solar. The EnergyExplorer function will show you the estimated energy usage for a typical home. Through its photo sharing feature, AmpIt, people can upload pictures of their high (or low) energy bills, solar panel installations or solar production.

5. MyEarth

Minimizing your carbon footprint has now gotten a little bit easier. Released in 2015, MyEarth lets you keep track of your daily recycling, water usage, transportation and even food consumption. What’s more, MyEarth has packaged energy efficiency in a way that’s fun and appeals to the masses — saving polar bears. Users check off daily activities like recycling everyday items or installing energy efficient appliances. These activities aid in minimizing your footprint, rack up saved carbon units in the app and keep a cute little polar bear afloat from a sinking iceberg.

A solar power system is customized for your home, so pricing and savings vary based on location, system size, government rebates and local utility rates. Savings on your total electricity costs is not guaranteed. Financing terms vary by location and are not available in all areas. $0 due upon contract signing and no security deposit required for leases and PPAs. A 3 kW system starts at $25-$100 per month with an annual increase of 0-2.9% each year for 20-30 years, on approved credit. SolarCity Corporation will repair or replace broken warranted components. SolarCity DBA Tesla Energy CA CSLB 888104, MA HIC 168572/EL-1136MR, other contractor licenses. SolarCity is not the lender and only the third party lender may approve, offer, or make a loan.

Savings based on SolarPPA and SolarLease customers with at least twelve months of billing data. Savings Rate calculated by subtracting PPA or equivalent lease kWh rate from relevant utility kWh rate. Savings calculated by multiplying actual kWh supplied by SolarCity in customers' first year times Savings Rate. Excludes fully or partially prepaid contracts.

Solar Bonds are debt securities issued by SolarCity. As with any investment, purchasing Solar Bonds involves risk. You must make your own decision about whether and how much to invest in Solar Bonds. SolarCity cannot make any investment recommendations or otherwise provide any investment advice. SolarCity has filed a registration statement (including a prospectus) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for offerings to which information on this web site relates. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in that registration statement and other documents SolarCity has filed with the SEC for more complete information about SolarCity and the offerings. You may get these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC web site at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, you may obtain the prospectus relating to the Solar Bonds, and the pricing supplement relating to a particular series of Solar Bonds, at solarbonds.solarcity.com.

*Based on SolarCity average system size of 6 kW and 8,418 kWh average first year production degraded by .5% annually over 30 years. Environmental benefits based on data collected from: Environmental Protection Agency, US Geological Survey, Global ReLeaf, and National Geographic April 2014.